SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Dyaisha Fair scored 27 points and hit three huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, leading Syracuse to an 86-81 victory over No. 13 Notre Dame in a thrilling ACC opener on Sunday.
Syracuse's Alyssa Latham added 21 points and 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
Fair's 3-pointer gave Syracuse a 71-67 lead with 3:41 remaining in the fourth quarter. The clutch bucket came after the Orange had forced six turnovers and allowed only five shot attempts by Notre Dame in the first 5-plus minutes of the period.
Leading 73-71, Fair hit another 3-pointer to put the Orange up by five near the 2-minute mark and her third triple of the quarter gave Syracuse a 79-71 lead with 1:17 remaining.
After Notre Dame managed just four points in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter, Hannah Hidalgo scored the last 12 for the Irish but they were never closer than five points in the final minute.
Hidalgo, a freshman, led Notre Dame with a season-high 32 points. She has averaged 31.5 points in Notre Dame's two losses. She added six assists and seven steals on Sunday. Maddy Westbeld had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Anna DeWolfe scored 15 for Notre Dame (9-2).
Georgia Woolley had 10 points for Syracuse (11-1).
There were 52 turnovers in the game — 28 by Syracuse.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 39-5 and had won the last four meetings.
It was Notre Dame's first loss since a season-opening setback against South Carolina in Paris.
Syracuse scored the first seven points of the game and that would be the biggest lead for either team until late in the final quarter. The score was tied at 19 after one quarter and Syracuse led 42-38 at halftime. Notre Dame forced eight turnovers in the third quarter and outscored Syracuse 27-19 to take a 65-61 lead heading to the fourth.
Both teams return to action on Thursday. Notre Dame will visit Pittsburgh and Syracuse goes to No. 24 North Carolina.
Syracuse 86, No. 13 Notre Dame 81
NOTRE DAME (9-2) — Watson 2-4 2-2 6, Westbeld 6-11 2-2 16, Bransford 2-8 2-2 6, DeWolfe 7-13 0-0 15, Hidalgo 14-29 2-2 32, Marshall 2-6 2-2 6, Obinma 0-1 0-0 0, Totals: 33-72 10-10 81
SYRACUSE (11-1) — Latham 9-18 1-3 21, Wood 4-6 0-0 8, Fair 9-21 5-6 27, Rice 4-8 0-0 9, Woolley 4-9 2-2 10, Wilson 2-3 3-4 7, Perkins 2-6 0-1 4, Totals: 34-71 11-16 86
Notre Dame 19 19 27 16 — 81
Syracuse 19 23 19 25 — 86
3-Point Goals—Notre Dame 5-11 (Westbeld 2-2, Bransford 0-1, DeWolfe 1-3, Hidalgo 2-5), Syracuse 7-20 (Latham 2-3, Fair 4-12, Rice 1-1, Woolley 0-3, Perkins 0-1). Assists—Notre Dame 17 (Hidalgo 6), Syracuse 17 (Perkins 5). Fouled Out—Syracuse Latham. Rebounds—Notre Dame 33 (Westbeld 10), Syracuse 45 (Latham 12). Total Fouls—Notre Dame 18, Syracuse 12. Technical Fouls—None. A—2,775.
